同桌 (tóng zhuō) — to sit at the same table; to share a desk

Definition

同桌 (tóngzhuō) is both a verb ('to share a table/desk') and a noun for the seat-mate you shared a desk with — usually a classmate, not a family member. Use it as a verb with 同过 to express past shared seating.

verb
to sit at the same tableto share a desk

Examples

  • 同桌。
    Wǒ men liǎ tóng zhuō le sān nián.
    The two of us shared a desk for three years.
  • 。
    Wǒ hé xiǎo wáng tóng guò zhuō.
    Xiao Wang and I have shared a desk.
  • ，同桌。
    Zài dà xué shí, wǒ men tóng zhuō.
    In college, we sat at the same table.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

同tóngsame
桌zhuōtable

同 gives same, 桌 gives table; together they mean sharing a table or desk.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

桌 has 卓 on top, giving the sound and a sense of high, and 木 below, wood; the bottom of 卓 has merged into 木.

Open 桌 →

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